Companionship
by odalys-ortiz
Summary: Carter decides to spend a bit of time with Bear before returning him to Finch. Takes place after In Extremis. Carter/Reese pairing.


Disclaimer: I do not own the property of Person of Interest. I just borrow aspects of it for entertainment purposes only. Thanks to SWWoman for being my second pair of eyes. You make each of my stories that much better.

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Companionship

Joss continued to sit with her legs under her body as she looked over at her new furry companion. At first when she had asked Finch for Bear's help with finding Detective Stills's body, she thought that he would be difficult with her since she wasn't really someone. It was true that the Belgian Malinois was friendly with her in the park that day she reunited Fermin Ordonez with his family, but that was when he was having his playtime with his master.

In her line of work, Joss had had the chance to work with a few K-9 units. She learned first hand that when those dogs were called into action, they were ruthless. After their understanding earlier, Finch was more than willing to let him go for the day. She was in a rush, since she needed to beat the IAB agents to the site before they got there with Lionel.

After meeting with Finch a few feet from the precinct, he handed Bear's leash to her as well as educating her on some Dutch commands that she would need to control the dog. Thankfully, despite her futile attempts at speaking something that sounded a bit like Dutch and fumbling with some of the commands, Bear seemed to get the gist of what she had wanted him to do and he performed beautifully.

The cold weather didn't slow down Bear in the slightest. The second she got out of the car with him at Oyster Bay, he led her over to some overturned dirt and began to dig. She managed to get the remains and take them far away.

She only questioned her sanity after the deed was done. She was glad that Lionel was safe. At least she still had her partner.

She left Fusco at the precinct, but not before letting him know that everything was alright between them and how she still wanted him to look into Cal's murder. She grabbed the leash and left to head home. She had gotten a few puzzled looks for her new friend, but no one really asked any questions. Bear was well behaved for a freelance pooch. He didn't give her any trouble on the way home.

She would return him to Finch tomorrow, wanting to spend a bit more time with this member of their weird little family. When she brought him home, Taylor was on his way out. Her son spoke to her briefly before heading off to his friend's house for the night to study for a math exam.

After Taylor left, she cleaned up herself and Bear. Joss was a bit wary if Bear would try to shake the water from his fur after she'd washed him down, but he just looked at her with those big old brown eyes of his and waited for her when he saw the towel in her hand. She smiled her approval and dried him off.

She decided to heat up a bit of leftovers from the Chinese she ate last night, sharing a good portion of the boneless ribs with Bear. With their hunger sated, she was now just here with him, thinking about one thing in particular that couldn't help but bug her.

She had hesitated earlier when she dialed John's number. She needed to talk to him about Fusco's situation. When she finally heard his voice, she did her best to calm her racing heart. Not hearing from him for weeks was more than likely the reason for her body's reaction.

Their conversation seemed a bit one sided. She knew that John had been busy with a number, but to have him act so distant worried her. She decided to ask her friend. "Bear, what do you think is wrong with John?" She watched as his large ears fell down and heard a small whine from him. "You're worried about him too huh?" Despite not speaking in Dutch, the canine was able to contribute his own voice, or should she say bark, in the conversation. Joss reached over and scratched him lightly behind his ear. "I wish I knew what was going on." She let out a long sigh as she wondered what the hell was wrong with her. She should be happy that he wasn't around. All her ever did was cause trouble and made it hard for her to have a normal, orderly life.

However, on the flip side of the coin, she couldn't help but smile when he was around. He was careless sure, but he always threw in a smart remark that made her happy to help him in whatever crusade he was involved in for the week.

She thought back to her previous relationships, when she tried to move on from the death of her husband. The men that she went out with were very wary about going on a second date with her. She would remember each encounter and conversation with every man and came to the one conclusion that could explain this.

"Maybe it's just me" she said depressed. Bear laid down while he looked at her, the same whimper escaping his mouth again. She reached over and pet him reassuringly. "I'm sorry to say that Bear, but I just don't know what else to think." She buried her hands into his fur, the blend of silver and brown matching that of his master. "You are just like him, aren't you Bear?" She couldn't help but giggle as he lifted his head into her hand, content with the spot she was scratching at that moment.

As her fingers continued to massage that spot, Joss saw that Bear was nuzzling his head against her outstretched hand in a return gesture. A little smile tugged at her lips and heart. "You may just be a dog Bear, but I'm glad that you are happy here too." He let out a small bark and wagged his tail approvingly.

She laid her head back on the couch, thinking back to his owner. Things became different for them that night in the DOD facility. He had been forced back into a life that he thought he had escaped. That's why when she first met him, he was a nameless man. It was to keep himself under the radar. Maybe that experience reminded him of when she had betrayed him.

She kept trying to think of ways to legitimize what she had done, outing John to Snow, but she knew that she had done a terrible thing. How could she turn over the man that saved her life to a man that had kept telling her all these horrible things about him? She beat herself up everyday for almost a week because she had fallen for it.

Even though the threat of the FBI and CIA was gone for now, she and John had chosen to not contact each other directly. If they needed assistance with a number, it would always be Finch on the other end. The disappointment was apparent at first, but once a week went by, she chose to just accept it and move on.

Images of John flowed through her mind. She couldn't help but recall him in that signature suit that didn't quite seem to fit him. He always wore similar attire when he was working, but despite having the funds to dress better, he dressed simply. Her mind always saw him in that suit and her heart would skip a beat as another image floated by.

She was interrupted when she felt something wet against her cheek. Opening her eyes, she saw a huge nose in her face and just burst out laughing. "Normally I don't accept dog kisses, but I'll make an exception for you since you did help me out today" she said as he lay back down. "You are definitely his kid, aren't you boy," and Bear's ears then shot up.

"What's wrong?" she asked as he slipped from his seat and padded over to the door. He began to scratch at the wood. Joss went to go get a leash and a coat, remembering that she had seen this before and it meant that he needed to lead her somewhere. It was around ten at night but Joss didn't worry too much about bringing a gun since Bear was a pretty good judge of character and would look out for her wellbeing. Along with her long, green yoga pants and peach t-shirt, she put on some shoes and her black, heavy jacket.

She attached the leather leash to the custom collar around his neck. Once she made sure it was secure, she opened the door, feeling the hard tugging as Bear rushed out the door. She nearly lost her balance as she tried to juggle locking the door and hanging on to Bear. Once she did that, she put the keys in her pocket and allowed him to pull her where he wanted to go. She then opened the front door to the Brownstone and was tugged to the right. Despite the fact that she was twice his size, Bear was quite strong and she had to break out in a jog to keep her pace up.

The air was a bit chill with small drifts of snow here and there but she wasn't bothered by it. She continued to follow until Bear suddenly he stopped in front of a dark alley on a few feet from her apartment. He then sat down and barked happily while wagging his tail.

She heard a familiar voice utter a command in Dutch before stepping out of the shadows. Joss couldn't help but sigh as she had been thinking about him only a few minutes ago. "I should have known it was you."

John approached the two of them then leaned down to scratch behind Bear's ear. "Well I couldn't resist seeing how you were doing with my son here. From the looks of things, he seems to be quite happy. Did he help you out?"

She nodded her head, a bit weirded out that they seemed to be having a casual conversation. She noted the bit of sadness behind his voice however. "Yeah, he sure did. What about you? Did your guy manage to get out okay?"

"Can you invite me to your apartment?" he uttered suddenly.

Joss's eyes widened a bit in shock and she thought she heard him wrong. "Excuse me?"

"I just want to hang out with you" he joked dryly.

"Then why don't you just break into my apartment? You are good at that sort of thing."

He moved past Bear, walking closer to her until he stood at arm's length from her. He then touched her hand that was holding the leash, sending a small bit of heat through her body. She had to do her best to not visibly show the effect.

"That was because it was an emergency. I was hoping to talk about today as friends."

She thought about the proposition and the chances that she could get the explanation that she wanted. Weighing the pros and cons, she decided to humor him. "Okay let's head on back and I can get you something to drink." She should have been angry with him, but she just couldn't help herself. She wanted to see him, to talk to him like nothing was wrong. She looked past their hands to Bear, giving him a smile.

"Go ahead and head back" she instructed. He turned and went the way he came, this time at a much slower pace. "You know you could have called right?" She remarked. They got back and she let him inside. After she undid the leash, Bear hopped back on the couch. "So how did the case go for you?" she asked while putting her jacket away.

"Well it was a doctor," he started as she approached him, holding her hand out to him. Realizing what she wanted, he took off his own jacket and handed it over, watching her put it on the back of on the chairs in the kitchen.

"Well I guess that's not really a surprise. I've had my run ins with incidents involving. Was it malpractice or an annoyed patient?" She asked while heading to the kitchen to fetch a few things.

"It's a bit more…complicated than that." He took the opened beer that she offered. She then moved to give Bear a few more treats while taking the seat next to him.

She noticed that he wasn't moving and motioned to the other couch. "You are allowed to get comfortable."

"The guy was poisoned," John blurted out before taking the seat. Joss stood up a bit straighter.

"Now that's something new. Is he alright?"

"There was nothing that could be done. He was given plutonium. He only had the day to do whatever he could. He chose to find his killer."

"My type of guy," She saw that he was upset over the case. "I'm sorry that you couldn't save the guy" she said sympathetically.

"That's why I wasn't lying when I said I was busy. I was running out of time. The guy had already died once along the way and I had to revive him. We ended up tracking down his broker who used the information that the doctor provided on a drug trial to manipulate a stock. The broker led us to his boss. We got the killer, but the doctor still died.

Carter felt terrible for being hard on him when she called. He was only giving a dying man his last wish. She saw that he was taking the doctor's death hard. She had seen how close he got to the numbers before and when they didn't make it, he seemed to die a little bit on the inside. Having one that he couldn't save made him look so defeated.

"Well if you want some good news, Fusco is off the hook with IAB" she said, hoping to make him feel a bit better.

"I heard about it from him, how are you feeling? Finch told me why you wanted to borrow Bear."

She looked down at her beer, contemplating her answer a bit. "I'm okay…even though I shouldn't be."

She reflected a bit more on the event. "I went to the bay in the middle of December to move a detective's body. I put the pieces of him in the trunk of my car and took him to a place far away where no one would think to look. I should be disgusted with myself, unable to look at my reflection in the mirror. Instead I just feel like it was another bump in the road that is my life. I shouldn't feel like this."

"I really am sorry that you had to get your hands dirty again. I know that's against everything in your book.

"This wouldn't be the first time" she reminded him. "Besides, it's for a friend who HR is trying to get rid of because he's was with them and is now helping me figure out what's going on. It's just that I'm troubled because I'm okay with what I did with Stills's body." She took a swig before continuing. "Before I met you and Finch I was a lot harder on myself to make sure that I followed the book to the letter and not bend the rules for anyone. I guess I must have been nuts or something to become so reckless."

"I guess I'm rubbing off on you after all," John smirked at her.

"Shut up" she shot back, causing them both to laugh. It did her some good. She should have been angrier with herself but he just brought something to their conversations that she enjoyed immensely. She missed this downtime with him.

"Hey, don't get so mad Carter. It's just my version of a compliment."

"I don't know whether to throw this beer bottle at you or say thank you."

"I would probably prefer the less painful of the two."

"Well then, thank you for that. I don't know if I'll ever feel the same though. I messed around with an investigation again that will probably land me in jail if someone finds out."

John put his bottle on the table. He wondered what he could do or say to make her feel even the slightest bit better. He didn't like to be the cause of her distress. She didn't know it but he had been watching her while she was engaged in conversation with Donnelly back in the car. The way she defended him, was willing to do what she could to protect him, surprised even him. He thought he knew how to predict people, but Joss was in a league of her own.

"Nothing will happen to you Joss, not again. Finch and I will make sure to protect you the best way we know how.

She was surprised by what he said. What had he been thinking to say that? She deduced that it was probably because of what they went through when he was at Rikers. Finch had been the one to explain to John the extent of her involvement with trying to protect his identity.

"You can't really promise that, can you John?" She felt like she couldn't believe him just yet. There was something holding her back.

"I can damn well try. Joss…" he had slipped. He had tried to be more careful but his emotions took over and he had called her by her first name. He hadn't used it since that night in the alleyway and he felt the one small syllable reverberate throughout his body.

The tension was broken when Bear jumped up and barked in Joss's direction, wagging his tail again. John could not help but smile. "Bear is saying that he will also do his best to protect you. You're lucky Carter, Bear doesn't trust people so easily."

She patted the top of his head, "Thanks Bear, I know you are just saying that for the treats but I still appreciate the gesture." She then looked over at John. "Thank you too, I know that you'll try your damndest to keep that promise. It's just in your nature to protect others." She then gave him a friendly smile which he returned.

He then realized how late it was getting. "I should probably get out of you hair. You probably need to get some sleep after what you've been through."

She tried to act casual as she put her beer down too, on the inside she was saddened because she wanted him to stay. "I guess I shouldn't have made you come here so soon after your case, especially with what happened. I'm sure you wanted to head on home too."

She escorted him to the door, being sure to collect his jacket and hand it to him. "You want me to take Bear off your hands?" John asked

Joss shook her head. "I'll bring him back tomorrow."

"How about we meet at the park then? I'm sure that Finch will have already got another number for me to check out." He put on his jacket and buttoned it up.

"Sure, I'm sure that your little kid here would like to have a bit more fresh air."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying that I don't know how to take care of my dog Carter?"

"I'm just saying that you spoil him too much. I recognize the signs." She was happy to get the chuckle out of him. The man really did have a beautiful smile.

"Considering what this little guy went through before I found him, I'm glad to spoil him" he John said proudly. He had already told her when they reunited the Cuban family in the park that day about Bear's previous owner. She took a shining to the dog rather quickly.

"Yeah, whatever you tell yourself" she joked. She then opened the door and moved to the side to let him out, not really wanting to keep him here against his will.

He was out the door in moments but he had one more thing to say before he headed down the stairs. "If you need someone to talk to, you can call me anytime."

She was taken aback by the sudden remark. "What brought that up all of a sudden?"

His eyes became serious. "I want to be there for you Joss, since I haven't really been a good friend to you these last couple of weeks."

Her heart warmed as she looked at him, trying to formulate a reply. "Thanks" was all she could muster for now. Her face had softened as she watched him turn his back to her.

"Night Carter" he uttered before beginning down the stairs.

"See ya tomorrow John" Bear joined her side and barked once, giving his farewells.

Once he was out of the building, she closed and locked the door. She then went back to the couch and allowed herself to get more comfortable, pulling her feet up to rest on the other cushion. She put her head against the armrest, looking up at the ceiling. She felt the dipping of the cushions as Bear situated himself on her stomach.

The warm heat source there got her thinking. "You know Bear, I have a bit of a (yawn) secret." Her eyes were growing heavy as she continued to think out loud. "I wish that he stayed...with …me tonight." She lost her fight and drifted to sleep. As she rested, she smiled inwardly, imagining the heat source to be not from the dog, but his arms wrapping around her to hold her affectionately and protect her from any nightmares that would haunt her.

She couldn't stop herself from mumbling his name before she slept through the rest of the night.

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A/N: So there are only a few weeks before the season premiere and I know that I'm very excited to get things started. I hope everyone of you enjoy this little one shot.


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